Marketing Online: Does It Work for Every Business?
Faith Kubicki, Content Marketing Manager at IntelliChief describes digital marketing as “a complex recipe.”
“If you leave one ingredient out, you’re not going to completely ruin the entire dish, but it will be pretty evident that something’s missing from the final product,” says Kubicki.
Still, far too many question the perks of marketing their business online. And it’s mostly because people find digital marketing to either be intimidating or too confusing.
But the fact remains that digital marketing works for every business when done correctly. Below are a few examples of how online marketing is helping brands belonging to various industries unlock their real potential.
Luxury brands
In his recent interview, Intis Telecom’s founder and CEO, Andrey Insarov, revealed that their marketing automation software helped luxury brands get in touch with their customers.
“After some of our luxury segment clients started to use short links with the product image inserted in the SMS, they reported a 270% growth in the conversion rate of sent messages into new orders.”
Brands like Chanel and Gucci have also begun to use digital marketing to highlight the usefulness of their products’ features rather than simply listing them out to their target audience. This minor change in their communication method has allowed them to be more emotionally appealing to their customers.
The finance industry
One thing that we can all agree on is that there’s a severe lack of trust in the finance sector. People are afraid to invest with organizations that they haven’t heard of, which can be a huge challenge for small businesses with a positive track record.
“The best way to build trust is by using customer reviews and testimonials from third-party sites like Trustpilot. Using statistics and USPs can also help to build trust too,” recommends Dan Ockerby, PPC Manager at RUN2. In fact, you can actually revolve your campaigns around positive customer ratings to improve conversions.
The medical sector
The President and CEO of Ekwa Marketing, Naren Arulrajah, explains how medical practitioners can and are using digital marketing to select their audience and narrow their target to better design ads. “You aren’t limited to targeting people by geographical location. In most cases, you can also select a target audience based on demographics, interests, and other criteria.”
He also refers to retargeting as “a powerful advertising strategy, because it focuses on people who are already in the sales funnel.”
In 2020, medical practitioners who weren’t the biggest advocates of going digital have launched their websites. But without optimization, having a website is futile. Digital marketing allows you to put your clinic on the map and attract more clients regardless of the market conditions.
How to make online marketing work for your business
Whether it’s running paid campaigns or free ones, marketing your business online can be a mammoth task if you don’t know what you’re up against. Here are the basics of successfully improving your web presence.
Avoid tone-deaf messaging
Rebecca Bamberger, the founder of BAM Communications, points at quite an important part of inclusive marketing. “Tone deaf messaging can become a major issue. An ad that still remains the day after a massive shooting, a pandemic or a major international movement such as BLM can not only appear tone deaf, but can also completely turn off potential customers and spark outrage,” she says.
Today, businesses can’t simply sell their products and services without picking sides. “Marketers need to have a plan in place to review, pivot and pause ads immediately given the pace of the news cycle and events in the world.”
Use the right channel of communication
Navy Exchange Service Command’s Chief Global Merchandising partner, Rich Honiball has identified a couple of common mistakes that business owners usually make when marketing online. “First, more companies are migrating toward the digital platform as a “catch all” and not using channels more effectively,” Honiball explains. “Second, the thought that your existing content will be easily purposed for digital. And ultimately believing that this is the only place you can spend your money.”
These errors usually make small business owners turn away from digital marketing and they end up cutting down their online marketing budget. But using the right channels can help you correctly optimize your marketing spend.
Enrich your customers’ e-commerce experience
This one is especially for businesses that have an online store or are thinking of setting up one. One of the most overlooked problems with poor digital marketing is that marketers simply copy what their competitors are doing. But personalization is probably the most essential part of digital marketing.
“Adding to the e-commerce experience could include creating new options for pre-purchase product engagement, such as increased photo content, video or even augmented reality tools,” says Kelly Ehlers, the Founder & President of Ideas That Evoke.
An online eyeglass retail company, Lenskart, is the perfect example of innovating to enrich the consumer experience. To penetrate the Indian market and normalize buying eyeglasses online, Lenskart came up with an AR technology that allows visitors to try their products.
As a result, the company is able to make more than 60% of its revenue through its online platform, making shopping more convenient for the customers.
SurfStitch, a lifestyle platform, is another example of a brand that recently expanded to the digital space because they want to enrich their loyal customers’ experience. “For us, the launch of our app is all about improving the range of channels that we are available on to meet our customers and engage with them wherever they like to be active,” said Justin Hillberg, Managing Director at SurfStitch.
Now, it’s true that Lenskart and SurfStitch have all the resources to deliver innovative marketing solutions that can engage their audience. So, it’s easier for you to give up before even trying when you don’t have the right team or even the budget to properly market your business online.
But remember that you don’t need millions of dollars to get great results. All you need to do is start somewhere. Because once you embrace the online world, there’s no turning back.